Yamashima sensei ikkyo study.

Todat I'd like to explore a video where Yamashima sensei uses ikkyo to illustrate some Aikido principles.

Here's the video:

 

 

What I take from studying this technique by Yamashima sensei:

 

"Attack" means to do a subtle attack with the free hand and use the hip joint to do so. He doesn't use muscle strength but rather his hips to control his hand movements.

"Relax" means to not use stiff force or push and pull when doing the movements. When relaxed a better connection is made between your hands and your hip joints. Also uke's movement is better felt.

"Slow" means to not rush the movements but to move and practice slowly because structure and technique are felt more easily.

 

A few things I see and try to work on myself.

 

- Yamashima use his hands, powered by his hip joints, while in front of his center. This way he's able to use his hips to full effect.

- Subtle use of balance points like mae and sumi otoshi.

- Free hand attacks from underneath towards hara and centerline uke.

- He uses soft touch with his fingers to control uke's center, not uke's arms.

- Many times, one hand is used as opposed to the common line of thinking when doing ikkyo.

Ikkyo is receiving force and redirecting it when center to center contact has been made. No forcing of arm movements but rather a subtle use of hips and hands. I believe the the main principle which can be studied when performing Yamashima sensei version of Aikido.

Enjoy practice.

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Bruce Lee quotes

Bruce Lee is a well known martial artist and actor. What a lot of people don't know he has written a lot of texts about fighting and movement based arts. I highly recommend a collection of these called " Tao of jeet kune do".

 

This book contains a lot of interesting quotes and philosophies concerning the martial arts. I'd like to dissect one of those today.

"Before I learned the art, a punch was just a punch, and a kick, just a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick, no longer a kick. Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick."

-- Bruce Lee

 

Lately, I've come to a bit of an understanding concerning this quote. For me, it's explained like this in an Aikido context.

Let's say one starts in Aikido and irimi nage is being taught by your sensei. You try to imitate the movement to the best of your ability with a cooperative partner. You're doing irimi nage in your way. Later on you come to an understanding that in order to execute irimi nage there's alot more to it than just copying the movements, so you try to dissect the movements into the tiniest details. Feeling sensitivity, balance, intent, timing, positioning etc. are being studied. Usually this could be the moment in one's Aikido training where you could become discouraged. For irimi nage isn't irimi nage any more but a whole bunch of different principles which work, but only when done together will become irimi nage. At a later stage all these components are unconsciously put together and irimi nage once again becomes the movement which you "own".

This, of course, is a different version than your first attempts at irimi nage. An evolution of this theory would be the consideration of Morihei Ueshiba where he noticed a moment in his training where he had forgotten all "techniques" he'd ever learned but instead arrived at Takemusu Aiki. Spontaneous creation of technique.

 

 

In order to become free of technique, one has to learn the technique for an extended period of time. This is why my teacher will refer to irimi nage as the "twenty year technique".

Enjoy practice.

 

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A study of Yamada sensei part 4.

"New" techniques.

 

 

When studying the Aikido of Yamada sensei I encountered a lot of techniques which aren't part of the traditional Aikikai Aikido curriculum. At least in my country, the Netherlands, I haven't seen them much.

So a fresh look at Aikido is what you can take from this.

 

 

 

Next, 3 clips with nice techniques.

 

 

 

 

Enjoy practice.

 

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Remember three things.

The way I try to approach Aikido training could be summarized as follows: Feel the technique as well as understanding what's going on. The feeling part of training is best understood with your body during partner training. This is probably the largest part of Aikido training. Studying and understanding how the body works and techniques are built is the part I also try to include. So study, practice and contemplate.

In the years I've been doing this, a simple principle arose and while testing this approach I've come to believe it's a valid set of tips to be used in practice. The theory is like this: When confronted with resistance of your uke there are three things to do or a combination of those three components.

1. Make center to center contact and move as a single unit.

2. Use the on/off principle.

3. "Walk" around point of resistance or contact.

In every single technique of every martial art these 3 components are present. So Judo, BJJ, Wrestling etc. all include these principles. Therefore Aikido is no different. What sets Aikido apart from these practices would be the possibility of training these concepts in a joyful, relaxed and non competitive environment.

Three examples in Aikido would be:

1. Center to center contact and move as one unit.

- Fujita sensei

- Saito sensei

- Yamada sensei

- Ikeda sensei

2. Use the on/off principle.

- Endo sensei and his students

3. "Walk" around point of contact

- Tissier sensei

- Doshu Ueshiba

 

 

Of course the three parts have to be mixed and used effortlessly. When one studies closely most Aikidoka's will use these three components with good effect.

 

Enjoy practice.

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A study of Yamada sensei part 3.

 

 

Yamada sensei uses hand and wrist movements known as te-sabaki. These movements are not only done in isolation but rather powered and connected to the hara. Hip rotation and hand movements are an expression of whole body power and connection to the hip joints, and when standing, the feet are essential. In the next clip Yamada sensei can be seen to use te-sabaki skills to perform nikkyo. From 03:15 ...

 

 

 

In Daito ryu aikijitsu hand and wrist movements are frequently used and called aiki age and aiki sage. A good time to study these often forgotten hand movements.

 

 

 

Enjoy practice.

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A study of Yamada sensei part 2.

Yamada sensei nikkyo.

 

Yamada sensei has a great sense of unbalancing uke through the use of his kokyu power. Kuzushi points like sumi and mae otoshi are used to excellent effect. When uke is on one foot he uses the direction where uke has no balance with an up down movement of his arms. Kuzushi is obvious one of the basics of Judo as shown in the next photo.

 

The use of kuzushi points is best seen in his nikkyo ura techniques.

 

 

 

Enjoy practice.

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A study of Yamada sensei part 1.

Yamada sensei using "Zhan Zhuang" arms.

 

When searching for Youtube video's concerning Aikido one will see a lot of high ranked Aikido practitioners from the Aikikai Aikido system. One sensei who I think has a lot in common with my previous study object, Fujita sensei, is Yoshimitsu Yamada sensei. Based in New York, his style of Aikido can be intensively studied on Youtube. Although I've never studied with this sensei a lot of information can be obtained through video study.

 

Fujita and Yamada sensei both have a style of Aikido which emphasizes the round structure of the arms and back. I refer to this style as the "Zhan Zhuang style" of Aikido. Of course this isn't an official kind of Aikido but rather a description of the focus on postural alignment of primarily the arms. They are frequently held in the posture resembling the Zhan Zhuang Chi Kung excercise.

 

They can both be seen to use the arms and round the back in the most structural sound position, the circle.

Their legs are in a triangular stance derived from the sword arts. The hip joints are square to focus their power. This combination allows them to use kokyu power with an emphasis on structure and movement.

 

Next clip will serve as an introduction to the Aikido of Yamada sensei. Notice the round arms and advanced use of kokyu nage.

 

Enjoy practice.

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